From professional theaters to community stages, this literary and artistic "light cavalry" performs more than 500 times a year

Reporter Tong Weijing

As a local drama genre in Hongxiang, Shanghai opera has a deep mass base in Shanghai. According to the statistics of the Shanghai Performance Industry Association, the number of private Shanghai opera groups in Shanghai ranks first among all kinds of dramas, and the total number of Various Shanghai Opera Troupes, Shanghai Opera Clubs and Shanghai Opera Performance Teams throughout the folk is approaching 1,000. "The development of Shanghai opera is indispensable to the private theater troupe." Chairman Wei Zhi said that today, the private Shanghai Opera Troupe performs as many as 500 performances a year, which is a literary and artistic "light cavalry" that spreads all over the suburbs and goes deep into the stage, grassroots and communities.

In order to promote the innovative development of private theaters and groups and enrich the cultural activities of the "Five New Cities", the "Second Shanghai Shanghai Opera Exhibition and Performance Month" will kick off today, and 19 high-quality plays from 10 Shanghai private Shanghai opera troupes will be performed more than 100 times in the past two months, sending Shanghai opera culture to the "doorstep" of citizens in Jiading, Songjiang, Qingpu, Fengxian and Nanhui and suburban areas.

"We are not satisfied with singing old plays, and the audience is not willing to listen to old plays all the time"

"From professional theaters to community stages, we are all there." In the past two years, Wenhui Shanghai Opera Troupe has not only carefully polished the original Shanghai opera "Early Spring", but also been selected for the "Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China New Stage Art Exhibition Season". At the same time, the troupe also opened resident performances in Songjiang, Jiading, Nanhui and Chongming, with three consecutive performances every day, and the audience was still endless. "We Shanghai opera actors opened the vibrato number, and there are tens of thousands of fans." Wang Huili, the head of the regiment, said proudly.

"Good theme, good performance, good production", the exhibition judge, well-known screenwriter Yu Yonghe used three "good" words to "praise" the performance of private Shanghai opera troupes, he believes that Shanghai opera to become a big drama in the country, the first thing to do is to accumulate high-quality plays and cultivate the audience's sense of identity. After more than ten years of development, the private Shanghai opera troupes, which have moved closer to the "grass-stage groups" to the "quasi-professional theater troupes", have developed by leaps and bounds in their creative standards, which is impressive. In addition to the classic old dramas, the Shanghai opera stage has injected a number of contemporary new dramas, such as "Early Spring", "Flying Over the Seventh Bridge", "Pomegranate Red" and a number of creations based on local and real people, full of deep affection for Shanghai's history and humanities.

"We are not satisfied with singing old plays, and the audience is not willing to listen to old plays all the time." Wang Qin, head of the Qinyuan Shanghai Opera Troupe, said. The troupe has been founded for more than 20 years and has always insisted on realistic themes. "Pomegranate Red" tells the moving story of Tang Xiaohong, a bus ticket attendant in Fengxian, who spent six years waiting with true feelings in exchange for the awakening of her vegetative husband. "The audience loved it so much, they cried and laughed with us actors." Wang Qin deeply felt that "the topic was chosen correctly", and during the premiere, Tang Xiaohong, who came to see the play, stepped onto the stage in warm applause and hugged Wang Qin tightly.

One by one, the Shanghai opera troupes with "people's names" have made their hobbies into careers

For two consecutive years, the Shanghai Performance Industry Association has launched the "Shanghai Opera Month" to build a platform for display and exchange, promote the flow of talent resources, create more market conditions, and help Shanghai opera "make a play". The new "Flying Over the Seventh Bridge" created by the New Dongyuan Shanghai Opera Troupe has undergone several rounds of incubation, with fuller content and more exquisite repertoire. Based on the historical materials of Qibao Town and the "Seven Bridge" bunker, the story composes a heroic hymn for the red history of Shanghai, which is deeply loved by the audience once it is introduced to the market.

The creative passion of the private Shanghai opera troupe is high, and now not only the market has done it, but also the active participation of the family, and the Shanghai opera troupe of the "people's name" has become a career from a hobby, "We found that the art of Shanghai opera was originally rooted in the folk so deeply, hiding so many teams and talents." Weezer said. Shanghai Qingpu Heyin Art Troupe, with a history of 15 years, in order to continuously improve the quality of performances, began to grow from a small drama, and now has the strength to create a comprehensive program; the Folk Music Shanghai Opera Troupe rooted in Minhang has created and staged an original Shanghai opera drama every year since 2016, and its themes are taken from the real people and real events that happened in Minhang. The Folk Music Shanghai Opera Troupe performs 200 performances every year, with an audience of 60,000 people... "The people's affairs, the people's editing, and excellent works are dedicated to the people", they, with a vivid attitude, have become a "vanguard" that inherits the local dialect opera.

The opening performance of this year's Shanghai Opera Month will be jointly presented by the "Tai Pillar" of a number of private Shanghai opera troupes, fully demonstrating the style characteristics and artistic standards of the excellent repertoire and outstanding actors of the Shanghai private Shanghai Opera Troupe. Wang Huili, head of Wenhui Shanghai Opera Troupe, and Yang Yin jointly presented "Early Spring", Shen Huiqin, head of Xindongyuan Shanghai Opera Troupe, performed "Flying Over Bridge No. 7", Wang Qin, head of Qinyuan Shanghai Opera Troupe, brought "Under the Ginkgo Tree", Sun Caifang, director of Caifang Shanghai Opera Troupe, brought "Sister Jiang", Zihua Shanghai Opera Troupe performed "Red Lantern", and Xinhong Minle Shanghai Opera Troupe performed "Looking Back".

Source: Wen Wei Po